


MoonSet

by Polar534



Category: Pokemo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22099381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polar534/pseuds/Polar534
Summary: A new region, a new adventure right? Well not exactly. For Moon this new region comes with a whole lot of adventure she does not want, but what do you do when adventure takes you by the hand and drags you in anyways?Think of this as an artful retelling of Sun and Moon’s story. Tags will be updated as the story progresses.





	MoonSet

"Oh and Moon, welcome to Alola."

“Ruff!“

*click*

Moon took a deep breath and closed her laptop. Her hand that had been constantly fiddling with a nearby pencil finally fell both still and silent. The professor, her mother… they both echoed the same thing, "You're going to love it."

Now if only she could believe them.

She glanced over at the brochure she had tucked away in the guidebook her mother gave her when she first broke the news. It stuck out of the book like a sore thumb, which wasn't all that surprising considering she had been using it as a bookmark. 

It's not like she didn't want to be excited to move to a new region, but she didn't see a point in moving across the world to do more or less the same exact thing she did in her hometown of Pewter City. Moon got up and grabbed the guidebook off her bed and opened it so that the brochure fell out onto the desk. Almost instinctively she flipped it open, it's creases worn from frequent use, bent easily to reveal the focus of the entire brochure:

Inside it showed a massive building that was almost akin to a greenhouse with the amount of windows, sunlight and plants it had. The caption in the corner read: 

**"For the betterment of Humans and Pokemon: The Aether Foundation."**

It was definitely a far cry from the stony mountains and dark forests near her. That didn't make it exactly better, but she clung to the idea that maybe seeing something this new, this… bright may just make the move worth it. Sighing again, she tucked the brochure back into her book and slid it into the box near her bed. She glanced outside and caught a glimpse of the moon outside her window and realizing how late it had gotten, she flicked off the lamp by her bed and decided to get some sleep.

***

Across the world, under the light of the same moon Lillie’s heart raced. She clung tightly to a bundle in her arms and kept looking over her shoulder as she navigated the dark walkway's of the Aether Foundation. She heard footsteps in front of her and skidded to a stop as two trainers dressed in white overall's stepped out from behind the corner in front of her.

Her heart sank as she realized with a sob that they had cornered her. What was she thinking? Did she ever actually have a plan to begin with?

The pair of footsteps that were following her slowed to walk. Two more of the white overalled workers stepped into the light of the moon and revealed themselves. They were both grinning besides their exhaustion. Truthfully this little incursion was a fun distraction from their usual work, but it was over now. All that was left was to punish the little brat in front of them and get back their research before they got into even more trouble. Both teams of workers started to approach the culprit, intent on seizing both her and the bundle she had so tightly wrapped in her arms.

Lillie closed her eyes. She couldn't go back to the way things were before. She couldn't stand the same routine day in and day out. This wasn't just _her_ chance at freedom at stake.

And yet, she still somehow blew it.

The bundle in her arm wiggled slightly and she held it tighter to her chest. "I'm sorry…" Lillie whispered with eyes squinted shut in an attempt to keep back her tears.

However in her grief she failed to notice that the very thing she was apologizing to had begun glowing very strongly. The trainer's stopped in their approach as the light rapidly became blinding. After a few seconds the glow faded and blinking spots out of their eyes they opened them to… nothing.

The girl was gone.

***

**1 month later.**

Suffocating. Moon was suffocating. She attempted to look around her but was met with nothing but inky black darkness. It was all encompassing. It was everywhere. It was filling her lungs and pushing on her chest all at once. She clutched at her chest in a desperate attempt at freeing herself from the tether that was the darkness and it clawed back at her hands and responded with a hiss.

A hiss that sounded awfully familiar.

Moon opened her eyes to see a rather angry but familiar feline face glowering down at her.

“Shove off Meowth, jeez you nearly killed me." She grumbled as she gently pushed the cat off of her chest and sat up on her bed.

Meowth simply growled and slunk off her bed and out the door without protest. New house, same old cat, Moon thought unhappily. She had a hard time fully opening her eyes as the night before she had forgotten to close her blinds in the exhaustion of the move. Now the sun streamed in relentlessly and filled her room with bright and unwelcome light.

A knock came at her door.

“Hey honey, sorry about rude awakening, but I figured you'd want to at least see your new home while the sun was up." Her mom teased, poking her head in.

Moon responded simply by throwing a pillow at the door, missing the grinning woman standing by it by a good couple of feet. "Excellent throw dear, next time maybe try aiming." She cackled as she let the door softly close behind her. "By the way the professor is supposed to stop by the house sometime today, at least get some real clothes on before he comes!" Her muffled voice chided her from somewhere down the hallway. 

Great. Moon thought. First day on the new island and I get the honor of not wearing my pajama's.

It didnt take her long to drag out a pair of shorts and a tank top from one of her boxes in the closet and slip them on. Even if the house was cool she could feel the heat from the sun from her window and knew it would be a long time before her favorite pair of sweatpants would be used again. She was just about to head to the kitchen to make herself food when she heard a rather loud knock at the front door. 

"Can you answer that sweetie? I'm out on the deck hanging our lights!"

"Yeah. I got it." She replied dutifully, looking forlornly at the kitchen as she passed it. 

Opening the door Moon was met with a strange sight. The person in front of her was definitely not a professor, but a boy about her age with tan skin that wasn't simply from the sun, grey eyes and dark green hair. He had his arms posted up behind his head and a huge grin on his face. 

"Alola! The professor has been dropping hints that someone my age was moving to the island and I just had to see for myself. The name's Hau! I live just up the street in Iki village. I could totally take you on a tour of the island if you'd like, I know just about every inch and secret of it!" Hau said in a rush as if growing more excited the longer he kept talking. 

Still being pretty groggy from her rude awakening, Moon did her best to keep up but was only really able to give Hau a small nod of understanding.

"Good to meet you Hau. I just kinda woke up and was about to make myself breakfast, would you like to come in?" She offered, genuinely wanting to be nice but also very much wanting to eat something. 

"Oh, well sure! Whatcha making?" Hau asked as he followed Moon into the house and into the kitchen, posting himself up on the opposite side of the island while Moon poked around in cupboards and fridge. 

Sighing she closed everything up and leaned against the island with her head down. 

"I have no idea. Apparently we don't have much because of the move. We'll probably have to go shopping later today." She admitted looking back up at Hau with a sheepish smile. 

Moon watched him frown for the first time since she met him. 

"Well that's no good! Can't have a good day start without a good breakfast. Do you mind if I take a look?" He asked politely.

"If you'd like." Moon said shrugging. 

They traded places around the island and Hau set about carefully browsing through the cupboards.

He pulled a few things out and started to set them on the island and after a short while he turned around to smile at Moon. 

"There. Everything needed to make pancakes." Hau beamed.

Moon looked down at the table at the unmixed flour, oil, measuring cups and bowls, it did seem rather simple and she kicked herself for missing it earlier.

"Thank you Hau. Probably wouldn't have even thought of making anything for myself truthfully. Mainly because I suck at cooking."

She started to get up, reluctant to actually try and make pancakes but not wanting to seem rude after Hau went through the trouble of laying everything out for her. 

"Oh well if that's the case I could just make some for you!" Hau exclaimed, gesturing for her to sit down. 

"There's no need Hau, really. I probably won't even set fire to anything this time." Moon replied, trying to maneuver around him. 

"Well if you're that bad in the kitchen why risk it?" Hau grinned ignoring his newfound friend's attempts to wiggle around him. "Besides I actually enjoy cooking, just think of it as a, uh... house warming gift! Yeah!"

Realizing she really didn't have any reason to argue with him, Moon gave him a tired smile and pulled up a nearby chair to sit at the island and watch Hau work. 

"Alright, but only if you let me repay you." She said, conceding to defeat.

"Well you could start with telling me your name." He chuckled to himself as he got to work. 

"Oh my helix, I'm so sorry. My name's Moon . I moved from the Kanto region, but I'm guessing Kukui probably already told you that. It's just me and my mom."

"Do I hear my lovely daughter talking about me?" Moon’s mom asked jovially as she came in from the porch.

"Speak of the dome, and she doth appear." Moon groaned. 

"Hey that's Ms. Dome to you, little miss." The older lady chuckled as she smiled warmly at the newcomer. 

"And who do we have here? Has my daughter kidnapped you and put you to work making her food?" She said looking worriedly over at Hau. 

"Mom! Please. He offered this time." Moon joked back. 

"Good morning Ms. Moon’s mom. Would you like some pancakes too?” Hau asked as he poured the batter he had made into a skillet. Before she could answer though Moon chimed in.

“Mom, this is Hau. He lives nearby in… Iki Village?” She said, looking at Hau for reassurance.

“Yep. Iki Village! Son of the Hala actually, so I’ve pretty much spent my entire life on this island.”

“Hau huh? Kukui talks a lot about you. You can call me Heather if you’d like. And I’ve actually got to run into the city soon so I’ll sadly have to deny your offer of pancakes. But I’m also sure that my daughter will eat her fill for me.” Heather laughed, ruffling her daughters hair.

“Hey!” Moon protested, but her mom was already heading out the door. 

“Stay safe you too!” 

***

“Hau. These pancakes are amazing. Hands down the best cooked batter I’ve ever had.” Moon said, finishing her plate as she smiled at Hau from across the isle.

“Yeah? You just haven’t had Terry’s Malasada’s then. I couldn’t hope to beat his recipe.” He blushed, rubbing the back of his head.

“Nonsense. Thank you for breakfast Hau.” She gave him a reassuring smile.

“Heh. No problem, after all what are neighbors for? Someone needed to show you our famous Alolan hospitality.”

Moon smiled sadly and looked down at her plate. Suddenly the pancakes weren’t sitting well in her stomach. She got up and gathered all the dirty dishes and placed them in the sink and turned around and gave Hau a weak smile.

“So, you offered to take me on a tour of the island right? Can I ask you something?”

Hau blinked. “Shoot.”

“Got any… like… special spots that you go to that make the island… feel like home?” She asked quietly.

Hau thought about it. “Well I feel the most welcome at the beach by the city, or at the Malasada shop or even-” He looked up and saw his new friend’s face fall. He stumbled a bit.

“But um, I feel that’s not exactly what your looking for.” He got up and approached Moon, and thinking for a second about whether he should or not, he put a hand on her shoulder. 

“This place has a way of growing on people. Why don’t you let me show you around and maybe you’ll feel a bit better.” 

Taking a deep breath Moonnnodded. “Alright, but only because you made me breakfast.”

Hau took a step back and smiled. He ran towards the front door and bounded down the steps.

“Well then, what are you waiting for?” He shouted at her waving his arms in an invitation to follow. “There’s a lot of island and you’ve already slept half the day away!”

“Well excuse me for being tired!” Moon shouted back, slipping on some shoes and grabbing her favorite beanie that by door she jumped after him.

***

A knock at the door woke Moon up on her second day on the island. She groaned loudly, island hospitality aside and as much as she enjoyed spending the day with Hau, 2 days in a row of someone at her door was too much. She rolled over in her bed, stretching out waiting to hear her mother answer the door and listening close to hear who it might be.

However the house was deathly silent.

The knock came again, this time quieter as if whoever was behind it was unsure if anyone was home. Realizing that her mom was probably not home, she resigned herself to getting the door. She peeled herself from her bed and slipped on a pair of flip flops and left the comfort of her room to see who was there.

Crossing through the kitchen Moon made a mental note of the little scrap of paper sitting on the island as she headed to the front door. Opening it wide with a groan she looked around a saw… nothing. Just as she was about to close the door and go back to bed however, she heard a sound which caused her to look to the left of her and off the side of the front porch where she found a girl around her age, dressed all in white looking rather sheepish.

“Can, can I help you?” Moon asked, fascinated by this person. She had seen a couple of the locals when she toured island yesterday with Hau and this girl looked nothing like the others. For starters she was super pale, very unlike the sun kissed locals whose skin ranged from pretty tan to pretty dark. Her clothes, despite being white were extremely pristine. Not a single wrinkle could be found, nor speck of dirt, and perhaps the weirdest of all, she carried around her shoulder a giant luggage sized bag that she kept a firm hand on.

Lillie looked up at the girl in doorway. Her hair was slightly messy and her pj’s were baggy. She was tan, but it was clear it wasn’t from the Alolan sun. She knew this girl was new, but besides what she was wearing, this foreign stranger looked like she could easily fit in Alola. Lilly looked at her and felt a pang of jealously. 

She shifted under the girl’s scrutiny, barely hearing what she asked.

“Oh um, I’m sorry. I was told by Professor Kukui to bring someone named Moon to his lab… apparently he has something to give her, but I can come back later if she, or uh, you, aren’t ready.” She said nervously, turning to leave. 

“No wait, please. Give me like, 5 minutes and I can be ready.” Moon said smiling apologetically, her earlier irritation washing away to concern as she realized she made the other girl uncomfortable.

Lillie stopped in her retreat and nodded. “Alright, take your time though. I don’t want to rush you.”

Moon watched her walk back to the porch and take a seat on the steps before stepping inside. 

Why did she agree to go? She was exhausted and didn’t really want to go visit the professor who from what she heard was just as kooky as his name implied, but, there was something about the girl out front that made Moon want to get to know her.

She shook her head. Was she really that desperate for friends or did Hau rub off on her?

Walking back into the kitchen, she glanced at the note she spotted earlier.  
“Dear Moon; gone to the next island over. I took Meowth with me so you wont have to worry about watching him. I’ll be back later tonight.” 

Short and sweet. Somehow her older mother always had more energy then she did. Moon smiled despite herself, remembering just how excited her mother had been at the idea of moving here in the first place.

She went to her room next and brushed her hair out and picked out some new clothes, half tempted to just go out in her pj’s. Finishing she took a look at herself in the mirror. The person looking back at her had large bags under her eyes and an expression that screamed she would rather be back in bed. 

She rolled her eyes and waved at the reflection. She was fine. She would find some way to enjoy this new life.

***

Lillie waited on the front porch, anxious. She had told the professor that she didn’t mind helping him out, it was the least she could do after all, but something about meeting new people always made her nervous. As if sensing her unease her bag wiggled slightly and she heard a familiar jingle come from it. 

“Shh. Not now Nebby.” She whispered, looking around panicked. “I’ll be just fine. Don’t worry about me.” She patted the bag reassuringly and it stopped moving. Sighing in relief, Lillie glanced back up at the house in time to see the front door swing open.

Moon, now fully dressed, still had bags around her eyes and Lillie could tell she was about as ready for this as she was. 

“Huh. You actually waited. I was sorta afraid you would bolt while I was inside.” She spoke, offering a hand to help Lillie up.

Lillie took it and with Moon’s help, got to her feet. She quickly let go however and placed that hand right back on her bag and the other gripping tightly to it’s shoulder strap.

“Well you weren’t exactly terrifying when you came out. You just looked tired.” Lillie replied with a small laugh, hoping to break some of the tension and unease she felt inside. 

“Oh well you can blame that on my mother and Hau. Both of them kept me up last night. “ Moon gestured for the girl to lead the way and followed her down the steps. 

“Oh, so you know Hau?”

“Yeah, he sorta just… showed up at the door yesterday. He made me some killer pancakes in exchange for me letting him take me on a small tour of the island.”

“Oh well that saves us some introductions then. The professor actually wanted to see both you and Hau today, but Hau knows the way to the lab so he sent me to go fetch you.”

“Oh… huh. Do you have any idea why he wants to see me?” 

Lillie looked at the girl next to her. Moon had her eyes down in thought. “I’m sorry, he didn’t tell me why.” 

As if sensing Lillie’s eyes on her Moon straightened up and gave her a smile. “Oh it’s not that big of a deal, I just hope I didn’t somehow get into some huge trouble on my first day.” She brushed off with a laugh.

Lillie didn’t buy it, but she also didn’t push it. 

They walked in silence down the winding and overgrown path to the Lab the professor called home. Eventually they both had to watch their step as the terrain became uneven and the grasses around them began to grow in height, Pokémon having slowly reclaimed this area as it became less and less used. 

Lillie gripped at her bag tightly and her nervousness didn’t escape Moon. Almost as if on instinct, Moon took a slight lead as the tall grass closed in on a narrow path in front of them. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Lillie’s alarmed eyes, but she didn’t say anything and eventually she slowly relaxed as Moon started leading the way through the growth.

There were plenty of rustles and a couple times they could see shadows of various sizes and shapes move in the grass but the Pokemon in the grass never did anything more then make a few noises and eventually Moon could see the path ahead clearing just a bit, and in the distance she could see a beaten up shack of a building. It’s roof was sunk in slightly and the front deck’s wooden paneling seemed to be peeling off board by board. A thought flashed through her head. 

_Oh god, this is a murder shack. This is where I die, I knew these islanders seemed too nice._. She shook it off as quickly as it came. There was no actual fear behind it, just the same cynicism that had followed her since she moved. She moved aside as the path opened up once again and she glanced as the girl in white, her dress and everything still without a single spot on them as she fell in stride next to Moon and they both made their way towards the “murder shack”. 

Stopping in front of the Lab, Moon took in the ruins up close and personal. The paint was chipping away and some of the boards that were peeling away from the main structure seemed to be rotting.

“I’m sorry about the bad pathway. There’s an easier way to get back up to the city and your house, but it’s a one way hike. I keep telling the professor we need to do something about the grass but he just laughs it off.” Lillie said apologetically. “He seems to think that it adds to his research to walk to his lab along side the wild Pokémon.”

Moon raised her eyebrow. “Well, that’s a professor for you. If Oak wasn’t so old I bet he would be the same way.”

Lillie looked at her inquisitively. “Oak? Is he a professor you know?” 

Moon blinked before feeling immensely shitty. She was in a new region. Of course they wouldn’t have heard of Professor Oak. “I didn’t actually know him, just… heard a lot about him. He was in a lot of the stories Kanto passes around.” She said quietly, looking at the ground.

“Anyways,” Moon said, quickly changing the subject. “You never did tell me your name.” She stalled, both genuinely curious in the person who had guided her here and also wanting to avoid actually going inside. She had heard a lot about Professor Kukui, and even though she had talked to him personally just a month ago, he was still the reason her mother had the idea to move them to the islands.

For a reason she couldn’t explain, she was reluctant to meet him in person.

“It’s Lillie.” The girl in white said, holding out her hand.

“Well then Lillie,” Moon said taking it in a firm handshake. “My name’s Moon, although I think you’ve figured that out by now.” She laughed. 

Lillie watched her with fascination. Besides the fact that she could tell Moon was hiding some emotions, she exuded a sort of confidence that somehow made even a person as tense and nervous as Lillie feel comfortable around what should have been a total stranger.

They watched each other for awhile, hands still awkwardly clutched together as the moment turned into a couple moments before a crash inside the building startled them both.

“MORE! I WANT TO SEE YOUR TRUE POWER!!” A voice called out in gusto. It was answered with a loud bark followed by yet another crash.

Lillie dropped Moon’s hand in a panic. “I TOLD him not to rough house with Rockruff inside! He’s going to cause the roof to collapse!” She exclaimed as she took off towards front door. 

Moon looked down at her hand that now hung loosely in the air and dropped it. She sighed.

Into the murder house it was, she shrugged as she turned to enter the building that Lillie had just slipped inside.

**Author's Note:**

> As stated in the summary, tags for characters introduced and relationships will be updated as the story updates. I know that’s half the draw of starting a new story but it can also take away from some of the fun of learning about these characters as well. I chose Pokémon Sun and Moon for this because while the basic structure of the characters were in place my imagination took this blank slate of a protagonist and ran WILD. This was my experience as I went through the games. Written out as best as I can. Please don’t expect much battling or maybe even much Pokémon. This is a story about Moon and her unwitting journey, not a nuzlocke or even an episode of the anime. Just a story about people that just so happens to be set in the world of Pokémon.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.


End file.
